2 reasons to be excited about Stephen A. Smith's latest report regarding James Harden and the Rockets

2. A failed Harden reunion would force the Rockets to show a feasible alternative

In many respects, a Harden reunion in Houston feels like a bail-out. The Rockets would be getting one of the best players on the market simply because he wants to return to Houston for non-basketball reasons.

They didn’t necessarily have to sell him on the organization and/or vision of the franchise. He either already knew the direction or wasn’t so much concerned about that.

Not reeling in Harden would force the Rockets to concoct an alternative plan, or simply just reveal their plan. It would also force them to show that they knew what they were doing all along, which would do wonders for many in the fanbase who have questioned Rockets GM Rafael Stone endlessly.

The Rockets would have to pivot to the next best thing, and actually sell prospective free agents on why they should choose the Rockets, a team that’s won just 25 percent of their games over the last three seasons, over other destinations. Again, this would force the Rockets to prove they deserve to be trusted after putting fans through the toughest of times in recent years.

Getting Harden would simply be an easy bail-out because they wouldn’t have to do any of that since he already knows he wants to come back here for reasons outside of basketball.